A Story About Love
by Swiftfire100
Summary: *OC Warning* AU- Gwen Fireheart is just a girl who wishes to get into the Survey Corps and find love, but a chance encounter with the legendary Eren Jaeger changes everything for her. Suddenly a whole new world opens up for her and her feelings are tested. The question is, does Eren have the same feelings for her? Eren X OC, T for swearing & innuendo. Sequel: Her Year of Happiness.
1. Discovery

Have you ever loved someone? Was that love won with respect, emotion, and just a little bit insanity? This story is about all three, plus sadness and a strange way to love. It is about a girl, aged fifteen, and a boy, also aged fifteen, who both live in a hellish world that could only be fought with sword, blood, and desperation. This is the story of Gwen Fireheart, a girl who was infected, and Eren Jaeger, the boy who saved her life.

It was her first time past Wall Rose, in the small district of Trost, doing a small reconnaissance mission with a team of Survey Corps members. Gwen was trying very hard to be in the Survey Corps, because it was her dream to see what it was like past the walls. She released her grappling hooks and flew up, past a soldier, and landed on the roof, not too far from one of the Titans that were still in Trost. She grinned eagerly, and ran across the roof, jumping off the roof, expecting for her grappling hooks to hit their mark in the Titan's neck. Instead, she fell heavily, a foot from the Titan, spraining her leg. Gwen looked up into the Titan's face and realized this was it, before she even had a chance to start her military career. Tears spilled out of her eyes as the Titan reached down toward her, and then stopped. A chunk of its flesh, from the back of its neck, flew out and the Titan fell toward her.

Gwen moved quickly out of the way, her leg groaning at her in protest, and saw her savior standing a few feet away from her. Her savior, a male, by the looks of it, wore the Survey Corps jacket and the cocky grin, but the grin was understated by the worry in his eyes as he walked up to her. The boy was average height, around 5 foot 7 inches, had startlingly big, round teal green eyes, and longish brown hair that flapped around his face. She stood up shakily, and he ran forward to help steady her. "Are you alright?" he asks and Gwen nearly falls over again. He was gorgeous up close, and she couldn't help thinking that whoever his girlfriend was, she was the luckiest human within all the walls.

Gwen rubs her eyes and nods a bit, trying to forget her rapidly emerging feelings for this boy and says quietly, "I'm fine, I think. What's your name?" The boy grunts a bit and she moves away quickly. He looks wearily at her and then holds out his hand. "My name is Eren Jaeger, and what is yours?" Gwen takes his hand and shakes it, trying not to think about holding his hand. "My name's Gwen Fireheart. Thanks for saving me from the Titan," Eren lets go of her hand, saying "It was nothing. I just didn't want to watch another person get eaten in front of me, when I'm no longer incapable of helping," He sighs, turning around to check the area. Gwen looks at his shoulder and tries not to let her voice waver. "I heard of you, Eren. You're that soldier who's in Squad Levi, the one who can turn into a Titan," she says to him and he turns back, just in time for her to see his face.

The emotions on his face went from surprise to concern to acceptance. "I am. It's hard sometimes, being the person to decide humanity's fate, but I deal with it," Gwen nods and plays with the end of her jacket, then checks her 3D Maneuver Gear. Eren steps closer and she tries not to notice his hair, resting ever so slightly on his cheek, instead looking at the handgrips. "My Gear hasn't been working since I first got it, the grappling hooks will work one time, and another time, I fall and have to run away quickly," Eren's eyes widen and he shakes his head. "You've survived training with this Gear? I'm impressed. You're quite a soldier," She beams at him and walks around a bit. "We need to get out of here, before more Titans show up. I think your friends have already begun to head back-" A Titan appears just under twenty feet away from their location, moving quickly toward the two of them. She gasps and turns to Eren. "Switch Gear with me, then turn into a Titan and kill it. I'll help, but with this Gear, I'm not useful-" She watches as Eren quickly takes off his Gear and she does the same, pulling it on just as fast. He gets on the broken Gear and bites his thumb, blood gushing out of it. Thunder booms and a lightning bolt shoots out of him and he grows into the Titan, just as the other Titan stepped forward. Eren roars and leaps forward, knocking it to the ground and rips its head off.

Gwen steps forward, but Eren's Titan falls forward and he emerges from it. She runs forward and helps him out of it, then quickly helps him to his feet. They turn to the Wall and start moving forward, but a similar crack of thunder and a lightning blast, not from where they were makes him turn around. She turns as well, fingers on the trigger, ready to launch out the grappling hooks. From behind them comes another Titan, but this Titan looked different, it had an armored look about him. Eren gasped and hurries to the Wall. Gwen runs to catch up to him, asking "What's that? Is it a new type of Titan?" He shakes his head and turns toward her. "It's the Armored Titan. We need to alert the Garrison right away!" She nods and runs quickly with Eren, but as they move forward, the Armored Titan takes a stance.

Eren looks back and stops running. "I have to stop it! If it breaks this Wall, more Titans will get further into humanity's haven! I can't allow that to happen!" He prepares to bite his thumb again, but Gwen steps forward. "I'll help you in any way I can. I don't want it to happen as much as you do," She quickly shoves the handgrips into a couple blades and turns, just as Eren bites his thumb again and turns into his Titan. He roars and runs forward, slowing the Armored Titan, but not stopping it. Gwen shoots her grappling hooks up to the roof above her and jumps off the roof, grappling to the neck of the Armored Titan, blades out and ready to slash it. She falls downward, toward the neck of the Titan and slashes it, but the blades break and she falls heavily on the ground, breaking her leg. She screams in agony and watches as the Armored Titan turns toward her, getting ready to kill her.

Eren watches as Gwen tries to stop the Armored Titan, but when she falls and screams in pain, he moves into action, pulling the Armored Titan away from her and body slamming it into the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Gwen drag herself away toward a building, using her broken blades as a crutch. Eren continues fighting the Armored Titan, and finally manages to get to the back of the other Titan's knees. He strikes one of them and it falls again, growling at Eren. Suddenly, Gwen yells from behind him, "Hey, you ugly piece of shit! The one that looks like a rock! I bet you're not nearly as fast as Eren!" She continues to taunt the Armored Titan, and it finally moves toward her, exposing its back, and its knees. Eren leaps forward and knocks it in both knees and the Titan crumples, two feet away from Gwen.

His Titan falls over and he emerges from it, running to Gwen and picking her up, grunting a bit from the strain of transforming twice and having to carry her. Gwen yelps a bit and turns her head, but not fast enough so he sees the faint line of color on her pale face. He looks down at the petite girl in his arms, long, red with golden streaks hair falling all over her face, and her wide, blue eyes looks up at him, tears swimming in her eyes. He notices small things about her face, a tiny scar on her cheek, a smattering of raised dots on her nose and forehead, and black rings around her eyes, which were very noticeable with her pale skin, and can't help thinking, even if she has imperfections, Gwen is pretty. She moans a bit when he begins to move forward quickly toward the wall, and adjusts her head to look down at her leg, which was hanging limply at his side.

Gwen tried not to think about how Eren was holding her, how she could feel his breath on her neck, his hand resting on her back, and most of all, the closeness of his face to hers. She looked down but it was no better, his other hand was on her legs, and she could feel the broken leg healing, but not fast enough. All she could think of was her boss' face when he found out she failed her mission. They made it inside the wall and soldiers were walking around, all talking about the Armored Titan. Some of the soldiers noticed Eren carrying her to the infirmary and they snickered. Gwen looks up at Eren and whispers "I can walk now, it's fine," His eyes widen at her words and he puts her down. Gwen walks around wobbily and he runs to her and helps her until she is steady. The two of them walk forward a bit, Gwen trying not to notice the closeness of his body to hers, until she sees her boss.

Levi walks forward to the two of them, followed by two members of the Survey Corps, and sneers at Gwen. "Did you complete your mission? Judging by your leg, which seems sprained, and the way you seem to care about Eren, you did not succeed," She turns red and looks away, and Eren glances at her, shocked. "You were asked by Levi to monitor me?!" He says to her and she nods her head. "Do you not trust me, Levi?" He asks but Levi turns away, motioning to the soldiers. "Make her understand her failure," Levi says before walking away. Eren gets in front of Gwen, shielding her with his body, watching the soldiers warily. "What are you going to do to her?" Eren asks them, but they just push him away from Gwen and attack her, kicking and punching her face, arms, legs, wherever they could reach her.

Eren moves forward toward them, screaming, "You bastards! Why don't you pick on someone who isn't still a trainee?!" He grabs one and punches them across the face, knocking him out, and turns to the other one, shaking with rage. Gwen is suddenly able to see as Eren pulls the other guy and starts beating him up, his face contorted into a mask of anger. She stands up, shaking, and wipes some blood off of her face, then turns to Eren. "Stop it! You're killing him!" She runs forward to Eren, kneeling next to him, and grabs his fist, about to go down onto the guy's nose again, which was already gushing blood. Gwen holds his fist in her hand, in a tight grip, and when Eren turns to her, the mask of anger targeted to her, she has a split second to think of what to do to calm him down. Then it hits her and she moves forward, kissing Eren on the lips, holding his fist in one hand, and his cheek in her other hand, tilted toward her.

Eren beats up the guy who dared to attack Gwen, petite, defenseless, Gwen, not hiding his anger, despite what Levi has told him. A month of being unemotional goes into his swings, defending a girl he met only an hour ago, only because of Levi's treatment of her. He hears Gwen move closer and he raises his fist one last time, but it doesn't come down. He feels it in her grasp, tight and just a little painful, and he turns to her, ready to say something to her, but she leans forward and kisses him. His fist is still in her hand, but she is just resting her fingers on his now, and her other hand is on his cheek, slightly tilted toward her. Eren puts his free hand on her neck and strokes it, admiring her courage of kissing him when he was like this. He opens his eyes and looks down at her, seeing her red cheeks, and blushes in response. She finally breaks away, her blush so deep, the scar on her cheek is now almost gone. He looks down, hiding his blush and smiles at her carefully.

Gwen sees his blush and touches her own cheek, feeling it's warmth, and watches him. He smiles at her, but it is strained, and she realizes that it might have not been the right thing to do. She didn't even know where it came from, just that she had the sudden desire to kiss him. She looks down, trying not to cry, but she does a tiny bit anyway and he moves closer to her, tilting her face up to his. "Why are you crying? Did you not enjoy it?" Eren's concern was etched in his face, the mask now just a memory. She nods a bit, wiping her eyes and looks at his eyes full on. "I did enjoy it. I just don't know if you did. You seem like it was the wrong thing to do, and I'm so sorry for it!" She is crying harder now, shaking and blubbering. He watches her cry and when she finally stops and wipes her eyes, he smiles at her. "Would it make you feel better if I told you I did enjoy it a little bit?"

Gwen's blue eyes widen and she smiles wide. "You...did?" She looks ecstatic and Eren hugs her close to him. "Yes, Gwen. I did," She hugs him back and slowly pulls away, sighing a bit, but not loud enough for him to hear, and looks up at him. "Can...can we kiss again?" She asks, her voice wavering, hope written all over her face, and in that moment he knew. She likes him, maybe is even in love with him, and truth be told, he liked her too. He nods and they move forward, their lips meeting each other, in a puddle of her blood and tears, the sun glaring down on them, surrounded by their fellow soldiers, all watching Levi's favorite soldier kissing a trainee. And you know what? He didn't even care. He liked Gwen and he knew that she was in love with him. He pulls her closer so that they are pressed against one another, and he strokes her hair, her face, and she holds his hair in her hands gently.

They finally break away and she looks at him, her eyes glistening. "Will I ever see you again?" Gwen asks and he looks away. "You're trying to get into the Survey Corps? Then maybe, yes," Eren says to her, and her face loses the little color she has. "I doubt I'll get into it now. Maybe I'll just stay in the Garrison, give up my dream," She sighs and looks up at the Wall. "I would love to see what it's like past the Walls, as a Survey Corps soldier, and kill Titans. Basically be you," She grins at Eren and stands. "I better go to the infirmary before I bleed out. I'll find you sometime. Goodbye, Eren Jaeger," Gwen walks away, then turns back and says to him "Don't forget to get that Gear fixed!", then turns back, moving through the crowd, which parts for her, all looking at her back, whispering about her. She ignores them, turning to wave at Eren, sitting where she left him. He finally stands, long after she is gone, and walks the other way, toward the supply area, removing the Gear. After he is done, he whispers to himself, "Gwen Fireheart…now there is a name that I will never forget. I hope to see you again soon, Gwen," and leaves the supply area.


	2. Won

Two weeks has passed since they first met. Both Eren and Gwen have wondered how the other was feeling, and how to talk to each other. One fateful day changes their relationship forever. This day is the biggest day of both their lives. Today, Eren learns of Gwen's secret, and Gwen gets her wish granted. Today, they are in for the biggest surprises their lives have to offer.

Gwen looks down at the puddle, trying not to think about her crush, instead focusing on what her squad leader was telling her. They were preparing to go into Klorva to kill some of the Titans in that district, and she had asked to bring Eren along. Her squad leader, an angry guy named Kurem, shook his head. "You know he's Levi's favorite soldier. Besides, your job is to fight Titans, not fall in love with that boy," Kurem glares at her and turns away. "Go get your Gear on and meet me back here in ten minutes. Or we'll leave without you!" Kurem turns away to berate another member of her squad, giving Gwen time to run off toward the supply area. She grabs her Gear, actually Eren's Gear since he gave her his Gear, puts it on, and turns to go then looks down. Two rows under her Gear's spot was Eren's Gear, her old one, and she couldn't help thinking of Eren's beautiful teal eyes, his smile, the way he kissed her.

Gwen shakes her head, saying quietly to herself, "Kurem said no. Besides, he's probably busy with something Levi related. Eren's just a distraction! But...what if he's the one I wished for?" She rubs her head and looks back at his Gear. "It'll give me a chance to see him again. Yes, I'll do that. I'll bring him his Gear, stop by to say hi, mention that I'm going out. See if he's going out as well," She picks up his Gear and walks out, toward where she thought he lived. She remembers that Kurem had said ten minutes and runs quickly to his room, expecting him to be out. Gwen sighs deeply and mentally prepares to see Eren. She raises her hand and takes a deep breath and knocks once, twice, three times on his door.

Eren was given the day off by Levi, but he was on high alert after the incident with Gwen. He was teased and ridiculed by every member of the Survey Corps, called "Erwen" and worse names by his fellow soldiers. However, he ignored them and kept his feelings for her inside. He didn't know if he was ever going to see her again, but he very much hoped that she did get into the Survey Corps. Now, he laid down on his bed and looked up, just letting his memories of her return. Her blue eyes, wide and full of emotion, looked up at him and he held her, bringing her back to safety. Her long hair, red and gold, flapping around her when she walked away after kissing him, her last comment still ringing in his ears like he heard her say it just moments ago. Gwen wasn't like other girls he met. She has a way about her that made you want to hold her, hug her close. And he wanted, more then anything, to hug her and stroke her hair again.

A knock on his door made Eren fall out of his bed and look around cautiously, forgetting where he was briefly. A second knock made him look at the door angrily, whoever was at his door was disrupting his private time, and a third knock made him lose his temper. He strode to the door, planning to punch out the lights of the interloper, and opens it. Eren's eyes widen when he sees who was at the door, holding a Gear, and grinning up at him. He does nothing, just stares at her, not knowing what to say. He looks at her red gold hair and then down at his feet. "Hello, Eren Jaeger. Judging by your stricken face, you did not expect me. Am I unwelcome?" Gwen says, slightly sadly, and he looks up at her, eyes wide. "Um, no. you're not," he says shakily and her blue eyes fill up with tears. He moves forward and she backs away, gazing at him steadily. "I'm not welcome? Even though I brought you your Gear?" She asks and he blushes. "N-no, I meant you're not unwelcome. Please, come in," He takes his Gear and steps aside, allowing her to come in.

Gwen steps into Eren's apartment, seeing that it's not as messy as hers, and sits on the chair in the corner. She watches him walk around, looking for a place to put his Gear. He finally sets it down on his bed and sits down next to it, looking at her. She moves a bit so that she is looking at him in the eyes and asks him, "If I were to invite you to come with me on an adventure into Klorva to kill Titans and try to reclaim it, would you want to come with me?" Eren nods quickly and pulls on his Gear before she could stand. "I'm ready to go whenever you are," He says and goes to the door. She stands as well, hiding her grin in her hair, and runs outside with him. Eren closes the door, locks it, and takes her hand in his. Gwen looks down at their entwined hands and looks up at him, trying not to wonder what this means. But inside her head, she wonders if he likes her as well. Maybe he cared about her in the same way as she did.

She tries not to blush but does so anyway, and he notices. "You know, when you blush, it's really nice," Eren says and she looks down again. "Um, thanks," Gwen says and they continue walking in silence to where Kurem and the other soldiers were. She whispers to herself "I'm ready to take it on, ready to do this, I'm invincible," and she smiles then moves closer to Eren. They reach the Wall and Kurem sees them and moves toward her. "I said specifically not to bring the half-Titan scum! He's Levi's best soldier and I cannot infringe on that. Go take him back where you found him and let's get going!" Eren looks down at Gwen and sees her eyes, swimming with tears, and he pulls her behind him. "What do you mean, half-Titan scum?! I'm as human as you or her-" Gwen wriggles a bit behind him at that and he wonders if she has something against his statement, but he rushes to continue, "-and I have every right to go with you on this mission. Will it help if I said I was given the day off by Levi?" Kurem narrows his eyes at him and grabs Gwen from behind him.

Eren steps forward, but Kurem kneels down to look into her eyes. "If he gets one scratch on him, one scratch, then you're never getting into the Survey Corps. I'll see to it," he says, then stands and walks off. She is shaking, trying not to run off, and he takes her in his arms, hugging her. Gwen's mental capacity shuts off for a minute when he holds her, and when he hugs her, she nearly falls over, her red-gold hair in his hands. Eren. Is. Hugging. Her. She tries not to scream and instead hugs him back, and he looks down at her, startled, and she squeals. They would've stood there, together, forever, just hugging and looking at each other's eyes, but Kurem walks by and screams for everyone to get going over the Walls. They break away, Gwen's face bright red, and run forward with the rest of her squad, and they each release their grappling hooks and get to the top in no time. Gwen jumps down with the rest of her squad, and they start moving up onto the roofs. She looks around and sees an Aberrant coming toward them and she goes to fight it.

Eren watches from the Wall, one hand on one of his blades, and sees an Aberrant running towards Gwen and her squad. She breaks away and leaps onto a roof, using its momentum to jump onto the Aberrant and ram it with her blades, knocking it down. It turns toward her and Eren watches it slam its fist into her, hears her scream of pure terror and pain, and turn away, going deeper into the town. She falls, blood covering her whole body, and slams into the ground, narrowly avoiding falling into her blades. He screams her name and grapples down as well, running toward her, ignoring the Titan that tried to grab him. Eren reached her and picked her up in his arms and moved into one of the buildings, laying her down and pulls off her Gear. "Please don't be dead, please don't be dead," Eren whispers and takes her hand in his, watching her, tears dripping out of his eyes.

Suddenly she sits up, opens her eyes, and Eren sees they are now bright red, the color of fresh blood. She turns toward him, her mouth in a terrible grin, and says in a scary voice, "Blood. I need it. You look human. Give me blood," then tackles him, holds him down in a surprisingly strong grasp, one hand on a deadly looking knife that somehow appeared in her hand. Gwen lowers the knife and punctures his neck, then drops the knife and kisses his neck, licking at the wound she made. Eren tries to move, but not much as he doesn't want to hurt her, and when she's done, she sits up, puts the knife to his wound and rubs it with the flat side. She sheathes the knife and blinks, her eyes now blue again. Gwen looks down at him, still on the ground, puts on her Gear and runs away, toward the Wall. She grapples up the Wall by the time he stands, and stands on the top, watching him.

Eren moves toward the Wall, keeping his eyes on her, and grapples to the top. Gwen turns and runs away from him, and he tries to catch up to her. "Gwen! Wait! Where are you going?" He yells and she leaps down the Wall, grappling quickly. By the time Eren's on the ground, she is gone. His feelings hurt, Eren turns away and goes to his room, knowing somehow that she no longer loved him and he blew his chances with Gwen. He opens his door and she's standing there, holding an envelope and clearly waiting for him. "Um, sorry for running away. I thought you were going to freak out, now that you knew my horrible secret," Gwen says and he shakes his head. "What secret? You just did a vampire thing to me and took off," Eren tells her and her eyes widen, then she laughs, amused. "You think I'm a vampire? If only it were that simple. I'm a quarter Titan,"

Eren steps back and grabs the door for support. "You're...like me? But you can't...transform...or can you?" He keeps both eyes on her, just in case she attacks him a second time. Gwen shakes her head and looks at the envelope. "I can't transform like you, but I have other powers, the powers of a Titan without having to be a Titan. I heal quickly, as you saw last time, I can move quickly, my strength is a bit better than most of the other people in my regiment, and of course, there's the blood thing. But with great power comes great fatal flaw; my emotions are off the chart in terms of human emotions," She rushes out and gives him the envelope. "I made the reservations two weeks ago, thinking we'd still be friends, but if we're not, then I can always ask someone else to go…" She trails off, and Eren takes the envelope and opens it, pulling out two tickets to the fanciest dance hall, The Ballroom. "H-how did you get these? That place has been sold out forever and..I can't dance," He finishes lamely and she shakes her head. "I'll teach you how to dance , and as for how I got these tickets, I walked over and asked for two of their earliest reservations. These were the earliest they had," She smiles at him and asks, "So, are we going or not?" Eren's eyes widen and he nods vigorously. "What time are these tickets for?" He asks her and she looks at the time on it. "Eight PM on the dot. So we have five hours to get ready," Gwen says and Eren nods. "I'll come pick you up at your room at 7:15 then. I can't wait for this," He says and she blushes. "My room is 333. I can't wait for this either," Gwen says and she stands, getting ready to go, when Eren takes her hand and pulls her into a hug. They stand there, hugging, for what feels like forever, but was probably only a minute, then she lets go, handing him the tickets. "Goodbye for now, Eren," Gwen says and leaves his room.

Gwen walks to her room, feeling elated. She was going to The Ballroom with Eren! She ran to her room, unlocked the door, and was greeted by a giant mess. Papers littered the ground, books flipped upside down where she didn't want to lose the places, and music discs in their cases covered her floor and desk. She grabbed a disc, flipped it into her player, and hit play, pulling off her Garrison clothes and Gear, dancing to her favorite song of the moment. Gwen sings along to the song as she pulls off her belts and her apron, putting them in a neat line on her bed, and slowly removing her other clothes. She pulls on a bathrobe and heads to the shower just as the song ends and switches to another favorite of hers. She finishes her shower and goes to her closet, looking through her meager choices of dresses before deciding on her favorite dress, the pale gold one with even paler blue stitching, that brought out both her eyes and the gold in her hair. She chooses the shoes that goes with it, darker gold shoes, and a silver purse, then sits down to do her makeup just as the music swelled to a final crescendo.

The time says seven when she is finished getting ready. Gwen stands in front of her mirror, looking at herself, all five foot four of her (five foot four and one inch with her shoes on). Her red-gold hair was in waves down her back where she curled it slightly in the shower, her blue eyes looking slightly bigger with the liner and shadow on it, her pale face given a tiny bit of color with her blush, her lips redder than before with some lipstick. Satisfied, she sits at her desk and writes in her (twenty-fifth) journal while waiting, listening to her music, excited. She wonders if Eren will be in a suit or just in his Survey Corps clothes, and if he loves her for the three dozenth time since the two of them met in Trost. He has to love her if he agreed to go to The Ballroom with her, right? She sure hoped so. Eren knocked on her door five minutes early, just when she finishes writing her journal entry about the day's events and what she hopes will happen tonight, and she turns off the music and opens the door.

Eren's suit was a bit tight, his tie borrowed from Levi, the Survey Corps logo on it, and he was holding one white flower, he didn't remember what it was called, and he was lost. Did Gwen say her room was 233 or 433? Or was it another number altogether? He struggles to remember and a number floated in his mind. He set off for 333, not expecting her to be there. Eren knocks on her door and she opens it, and he couldn't help stepping back a tiny bit. He thought she was pretty before? She looked beautiful, stunning, amazing. He opens his mouth, closes it, then opens it again, holding out the flower. "I, uh, brought you this. It, um, reminded me of you," Eren stammers and she smiles, giving him heart palpitations. "Thanks, Eren. I have a vase around here...somewhere," She opens the door, revealing the mess of a writer. "You like to write and read," He states and she nods distractedly. "I love writing and reading. Music too. The classic stuff is some of the best ever. They help me to take my mind off my emotions and this hell we live in," She nudges a portable music player with her foot and pulls out a small plastic vase and puts the flower into it. She goes into her bathroom and Eren hears her turning on the sink, and she comes out, putting the vase on the already cluttered desk.

Eren picks up one of the books and turns it over to read the title. "The Phoenix Loves Brighter Than the Crow. Sounds like a love story. Are you a secret romantic?" He teases and immediately wishes he didn't. Gwen turns toward him, eyes steely, one hand on her purse, brandished like the knife she wielded just hours ago."Yes, I am a romantic. Do you have a problem with that?" She asks Eren dangerously and he steps back. "N-no, I was only kidding. I'm sorry," He says and opens the door. "Are we going or not?" Eren asks her and leaves quickly, not expecting her to follow. She does though and gets close to him, obviously forgiving him. Gwen takes his hand and presses her body against his, so he can smell her.

She smelled like heaven and fire and perfection all wrapped up together, and he presses his cheek against her head. Gwen looks up at him, eyes shining, and he bends down to kiss her forehead. She blushes and opens her mouth, then closes it. "Uh- I was wondering, if you knew my real name," She says and his eyes widen. "A...real name? You mean Gwen Fireheart isn't real?" Eren asks her and she nods. "My real name is Verity Campbell, Verity means truth," Gwen says and he shakes his head in wonder. "Seriously? That's a beautiful name. It fits you," Eren says to her and she giggles. "I hate my name so much, when my family died in the fall of Wall Maria, I changed it to Gwen Fireheart because of two characters in my books that I admired," Gwen looks down and lets go of his hand, walking a bit faster.

"We're going to be late if we don't hurry. They won't let us in if we're even a minute late," Gwen says and Eren nods. They walk fast, not saying anything to one another, wrapped up in each other's thoughts. They make it to The Ballroom with three minutes to spare and go in, noticing minute details of the beauty and extravagance of the dance hall. Gwen looks around, taking in the golden tapestries, the finery, the beautiful people dancing, until Eren takes her hand. "Shall we?" he asks her and she nods, briefly looking away from the amazing hall. "Hang on. I want to request a song," Gwen runs over to the band and whispers a song to them and they nod. The singer launches into one of her all time favorite love songs and she runs back. "Now, we dance," Gwen says and he takes her hand. They sway out to the floor and move in harmony, gazing into each other's eyes. The song takes them away, Gwen mouthing the words and Eren holding her close. They dance and all Gwen can think is, Eren does love me!

The song ends, but to them it felt like forever has just passed. Gwen takes his hand, admiring the sturdiness and gentleness of Eren's right hand, and leads him to the benches on the side. Like the rest of The Ballroom, the benches were gold leaf and very pretty, and Gwen couldn't help stroking the golden paint on the bench before turning to Eren. "I have a confession to make," Gwen and Eren say in unison. Eren motions for her to go first, and she goes on. "When I first met you, after you saved my life from the Titan, I kinda fell in love with you," Gwen says and he smiles. "I fell in love with you after that, when I was carrying you to safety," Eren says to her and Gwen's eyes widen. "Then...do you want to be...you know. My boyfriend?" Gwen asks and he nods quickly. "I would love to be your boyfriend," Eren says and embraces her. Gwen blinks back tears and mutters, "No tears, no tears," as Eren leans down to her. She moves upward to him, hugging him close and stroking his hair, and they kiss.

**~*Author's note: Much of this chapter was inspired by music and I will make a small playlist for this chapter on YouTube soon. For now, enjoy!*~**


	3. Loss

Gwen walks along the top of the Wall, followed closely by Levi and Eren, holding a small, deadly looking, curved knife in one hand, and two pieces of paper in the other hand. A year has passed since they became a couple, and Gwen's heart was heavy. She looks down at her outfit, knowing that this may be the last time she ever saw it, and admires her originality for the sixth dozenth time since she chose it seven months ago. She wore the Survey Corps jacket- she got into the Corps so long ago that she forgot the date- a black shirt, the grey scarf that Eren gave her as a gift, and a pair of black felt pants with the standard belts and a black belt around her waist with silver embellishments on it. She looked down at her secondhand ankle length boots and felt the comfort of her black cloak on her back, knowing that, even if the end was near, she still looked just like how Eren always wanted her. Eren goes next to Gwen and holds her hand, the box with the item in his other hand, and pulls her close. "Why the long face? You said that you need to draw blood and drop the knife. Then the war will be over, right?" Eren looks down at her and she nods. "That is indeed true," Gwen says and looks over to the other side of the Wall.

Masses of Titans stood there, all watching her, staring at the instrument of their destruction without knowing what it was. She stops suddenly, seeing a small spot that looked good, and goes to the edge of the Wall and turns back to the two men in her life, her boyfriend and her best friend. "Can I have the box?" Gwen asks and Eren hands over the box. She nods her thanks, puts the blade in between her teeth, pirate style, and opens the box. A half marble sits there, purple and blue and gold and red swirling all around each other, and she pulls it out, drops the box, and takes the knife out from her teeth. Gwen then holds the blade upside down and places the half marble into the top of the hilt, and the whole knife starts glowing blue and purple, like an aura. She turns back to the two men, one hand on her knife, the other hand on the two pieces of paper, and looks at Eren.

"I want to thank you, Eren, for the best year I could have ever had. I want you to know that I love you more then my books, my music, even my cat, Tobi, and that you're the best person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing," She begins, unraveling her scarf and takes it off, throwing it onto the ground, as Eren's eyes widen. "You're acting like this is your final moment, but...you're not dying surely?" Eren asks and her eyes, full of tears, nods. "I want you to have my scarf and this note-" Gwen hands him the first piece of paper and pushes the scarf toward him, "-and read it after it happens. Levi, here's my note for you-" She holds out the second piece of paper and Levi steps forward, face as impassive as ever, and takes it. "-and read it before my funeral. It's my Last Will and Testament, and it has some requests for you,"

She looks back to Eren, eyes watering, and runs to him, throwing her hands around his neck, hugging and kissing him full on the lips. They stand there for a few minutes until Levi clears his throat and they break away. Gwen goes back to the edge of the Wall and starts speaking, hoping to get her last feelings into words. "I will miss you both so much, and I hope that you never forget me. This has been an amazing year and you have been an even more amazing boyfriend, Eren. I love you so much, don't you ever forget that, and this is my last goodbye. If you fight, you win. But what happens if you fight, but lose anyway? Goodbye, Eren," Gwen says, eyes dripping tears, a reflection of Eren's face, and stabs herself in the heart with the knife, falling off the side of the Wall, falling into the mass of Titans.

Flashback to the moment when they become a couple, sitting on the bench in The Ballroom, having just finished dancing to her favorite song, and kissing each other like there was no tomorrow. Eren holds her face in between his hands, and her hands are laced into the silky softness that is Eren's brown hair. They finally come up for air and Gwen asks him to dance with her again. Eren nods and leads her to the floor, and they move closer taking in each other's bodies and warmth. They dance the next three songs together, gazing into each other's eyes, never thinking that the other had any doubts about their futures. Flash forward a month later, when Gwen gets into the Survey Corps as a member of Squad Levi, at Eren's side. She had to tell Levi of her power to get in, but it was worth it to be with her boyfriend, fighting Titans and seeing the world together. A week later, Eren asks her if he could begin to call her Verity, and she agrees happily. There were many kisses, many hugs, many shared moments together in peace over the past year, and Gwen had never been happier then when she was with Eren.

Flashback six years ago, when Wall Maria fell. Verity watched her parents, her older sister, her younger brother, get eaten by the Titans. She was ushered away by a member of the Garrison from the rest of the refugees. She could see a trio of children, no doubt like her, orphaned by the Titans. One of them, a vaguely familiar boy with soft brown hair (how did she know his hair was soft?) and teal green eyes, turns toward her and she sees her face reflected back in his. Tearstained face, eyes full of emotion, and the trauma of what they have seen written all over their faces. Verity waves at him and couldn't help releasing another sob as she follows the soldier to the front boat. The soldier's name was Delia and she became her foster mother as a result of the events. For the next three years, Delia protected her, and gave her a home. Verity was happy, but when Delia died, she swore to find and kill the Titan who killed Delia and joined the military.

Flash forward a year. Verity, now known as Gwen, is training to be a soldier and hopefully get into the Survey Corps. She is in the 108th Trainee Regiment and wears her orange military jacket with pride. She is in the top ten, at number six, and has been hailed by her fellow trainees as a deadly angel. Gwen knows her strengths and weaknesses, the most important is her new power, one that she got from a man who claims he is Grisha Jaeger, and she uses it well. Gwen has learned to fight using her power and beats all her friends in hand to hand combat, training to fight the Titans, weapon usage. She has learned so much in her time with the 108th Trainee Regiment and works so hard to make up for her small size. Gwen is confident that her life will be useful to the war against the Titans, for humanity to win.

Flash forward another year. She is sitting in her room on her birthday, blinds closed, crying, clutching a photograph of her real family, the only one that she managed to salvage from the house and their deaths so long ago, now edited to have her foster mother in it as well. Gwen wishes she never got the power, not only with its strengths, but also it's terrible weakness. She rubs her arms, sobbing, and looks in her mirror, seeing her face, puffy and red from crying. She opens one blind and sees that it is raining, but it was sunny. Gwen hardly dares to believe it, standing to look at the rain. Her mother's words come back to her from so many years ago and she mouths the words as her mother says them. "Golden rain, rain while the sun is shining, is special. You can wish on this rain, Verity, and your wish will come true. Remember this if you are ever in danger, my Verity," Gwen whispers, then puts the photo on the chair, and closes her eyes. Her eyes are still dripping tears, but she now believes there is some hope in her life. Gwen whispers to the rain, "I wish to have someone to make me feel good about myself, to love, to be my best friend. I'll do anything to have this person for a full year, even if it means giving up my life to save all of humanity..." then releases another sob and takes her photo, putting in a drawer, and closes the blinds. She then turns on the one light in the whole room, writing about this event in her twenty fourth journal. Gwen does not see three raindrops hit the window and make a gold heart over her head.

It is a week later and she is talking to Levi about watching the legendary Eren Jaeger during a mission into Trost. He knows her as a brave warrior, but also of her lack of control with her emotions. Gwen listens to his orders and nods before putting on her 3D Maneuver Gear and going out with the rest of the squad. She relives the moment where the Titan is about to eat her, then Eren saving her, then Eren carrying her to safety at the moment when he fell in love with her, then the kiss. Gwen watches this part both as a front view and from the side, now knowing that this is the moment that she had wished for. Gwen's tears float upward as she falls, feeling her life slip away, but more memories wash over her. She touches her lips with her right pointer finger and allows them to come forward, reveling in what they will bring for her in her final moments of peace.

Moments from their year together flash by her face as she falls and some of them were the most important in her life. The one that stood out was the one from a month ago when she was writing her first song and Eren helped her write it, saying that she would be famous one day with this song. Gwen believed him then. Now, she wasn't so sure. Her dream she had that night appears, and she watches the curved knife now in her chest be made by a girl a little younger than her, a girl that looks strangely familiar. She now knew who the girl was, but she didn't hate the girl for what she has done. Gwen moves her head slightly and looks into the eyes of Verity, falling beside her, when Gwen was at her final moment of being her, before Verity Campbell became Gwen Fireheart, the Deadly Angel, the warrior, the girlfriend of Eren Jaeger. Gwen smiles as Verity says her final words to her before fading, "If you fight, you win. But what happens if you fight, but lose anyway?" Gwen turns her head back and moves it down, hearing Eren call out her birth name then her chosen name. On this day, one year later, she is falling with a knife inside her heart, seeing her love's face, crying to her, hand outstretched toward her. On this day, September 16th, a week after her birthday, she is dead, knowing that she has done some good in this world.

Eren watches Verity stab herself in the heart, then fall off the side of the Wall, blue eyes full of tears. His whole world ends at the same moment and he runs forward, hand outstretched, noticing that her eyes reflect long ago memories, most of which he did not recognize, but a few were of him. She turns her head slightly and smiles, then moves her head back. He screams her name, first her birth name then her chosen name, and cries, curses. Levi steps forward and pulls him back before he falls off as well, whispering, "We must honor her. Let us see if our greatest enemies are indeed dead," and looks up at the Titans. Eren does as well, reluctantly, and gasps in awe. Each of the Titans were turning to ash and falling into the Earth, one after another, before the soldiers' astonished eyes. Eren stands slowly, then screams in pain and falls to the ground. Black smoke curls upward out of his hands and his face and he sees his Titan roaring once before shattering into ash as well. The pain recedes as quickly as it came and Eren stands again, shakily, going to the edge of the Wall.

Levi steps forward, expecting him to jump as well, but Eren waves his hand, looking down at the spot where she landed. "We need to recover her body and give her a proper funeral. She deserves it. Her Last Will is in your hands. We need to...I need to...see her treated like the hero she was in the end," Eren says shakily and Levi nods briefly. "You will be expected to bring her body to the infirmary. I am so sorry for what has happened to you," Levi says and walks off, yelling to some soldiers to go down and alert everyone that the war is over. Eren barely hears what Levi says, just staring at the ground, so far away, looking at her from high up. A song she once made Eren listen to floated up from the bottom of his mind, and he can't help thinking that maybe she knew what going to happen and prepared for it for awhile now. He mouths the words to the song as he walks to the Gear supply area and takes out a Gear, strapping it on. "'Cause you had a bad day, taking one down, singing a sad song to turn it around," Eren sings as he grapples down to her body, not feeling anything, as numb as he was when she was attacked by the Aberrant the day they danced together, the day they finally got together. A stab of pain rips through his heart when he thinks of that, and he briefly falls to his feet, near her body. Eren stands over her body, piles of ash around him, and he screams, a long, pure note of grief and despair and heartbreak.

He leans down, closes her blue eyes, realizing that it would be the last time he ever saw them, and picks up her body. Eren removes the knife carefully so that he can put it into her sheath on her belt and walks to the Wall, holding her, trying not to look down at her pale face, paler still in death. He feels her hair on his hand and he resists the need to stroke it, just focusing on his mission to bring the heroine of humanity to safety. He makes it to the Wall and the soldier in charge allows him inside, telling him that Levi is looking for him at the infirmary. Eren nods and goes quickly to the infirmary, not expecting the huge turnout of soldiers who were there to pay their last respects to his Verity. He lays her on the prepared bed and sits the closest to her, holding her hand, and staring at her face. Soldier after soldier whispers their condolences to him and lays a white flower like the one he got her on their first date (he still didn't know what it was called) on her bed and walks out.

Most of them are crying, a few have steely faces, one or two, not a whole lot, have faces like Levi's; impassive and uncaring. Those were the people Eren would have wanted to fight if he wasn't so numb in his body and heart, they were disrespecting her by not showing a bit of emotion. Levi, when he steps forward, is pale and slightly crying as he lays his flower on her hair, and kneels next to him. "Here's your flowers," Levi says quietly and hands him a whole bouquet, which Eren takes and puts them all on her chest. "She loved the white flowers. She never told me what they were called, but I've seen them everywhere in her room when we were together," Eren says and strokes her hair a bit, trying hard not to break down again. Levi nods and whispers, "She loved roses. I once asked her what her favorite flower was and she told me, 'white roses, because that was the color and type of flower that Eren got me for our first date,'" Eren looks back to him, but Levi just shrugs and pulls out the piece of paper that Verity gave him and walks away. He turns back to Eren and says, "Her room is yours now, if you want it. She left the room and everything in there to you," Eren nods stiffly and stands, holding her note in his hand, and tells Levi where he is going.

Eren walks to Room 333 alone, lost in his thoughts and memories of her. Verity's note sits in his palm, sweaty with the tension of what has happened, and goes into her room, smiling despite himself when he finds that she left it unlocked like she always does when she knows he's coming to see her. He goes in, looking around at her familiar mess of papers, books, music discs, pens and pencils, and roses, all over the place. Eren couldn't help smiling at her mess, despite his earlier reprovals of her not bothering to clean whenever he visited. Her black cat, Tobi, a new acquisition when they found him outside Wall Rose and she couldn't bear to leave him wandering outside the Wall with Titans out there, mewed from her bed, unmade from their last night together, and rolled over, revealing his belly. Eren rubs Tobi's soft belly a bit and slides into her desk chair, opening her letter.

"Dear Eren, I am so sorry for what I did, lying to you about my death. I had to ensure that my fate came true, just as how it was ordained. I am going to tell you one last story, one that is entirely true. I hope you are comfortable, because this story may give you some hope in the coming aftermath. When I was younger, before she and the rest of my family died in the fall of Wall Maria, my mother told me the fantastic story that there was such thing as golden rain. Yes, rain that only happened in the sun, which made it look like melted gold. I have long disbelieved it, due to our current situation, but there was a point in my life where I finally snapped. If you might recall, we had a rain shower in the sun one week before we met. That day was my birthday and I hardly dared to believe that I might finally get something I wanted. My wish was to have someone to love and be there for me. But then I made the catalyst, that I'd kill myself to save humanity one year after the two of us would meet. One week later, we kissed. Now look where we are, one year after that little kiss. My point of this story is that, next time if there is a golden rain shower, make a small wish for me. It doesn't have to be to have me back at your side, but make the wish mean something. if you truly believe in your heart the wish you make, it'll come true. I love you so much, my Eren. Goodbye," Eren puts down the letter, crying fresh tears. He looks outside the window, imagining her looking out the same time, watching the rain come down, and making that fatal wish. Eren wanted her to be back so much that it hurt, and she had just gave him the last, tiny little hope that maybe, he could see her again one last time. He decided to wait for the next golden rain shower, however long it took.

As soon as he made that resolution, rain started to fall, yet the sun was shining as bright as before. Eren couldn't believe that this would happen, but he decided that she did this, up in Heaven, just for him. He looks at the golden rain, closes his eyes, and whispers his wish, with his whole heart. "I wish to have Verity Campbell, known as Gwen Fireheart to some, back here on Earth, alive, with me," Eren sits back down on her chair and waits for her. An hour passes, then two, and a third hour clicks by and Eren sits at the chair. Finally, after the fourth hour ticks by, he gives up, standing to go. The same moment he stands, a pale silvery light appears, forming a scar in midair, and opens up sideways. A figure falls through, a silver cloak covering every inch of the person, and teeters on unsteady feet, which are covered with silver boots. Eren steps forward cautiously, not knowing if this was her or someone else, when the person takes off their hood, revealing medium length red-gold hair, a pale face, still streaked with tears, and her blue eyes.

Her thin lips, open slightly, feel dry and she licks her lips with her tongue, then looks around, not knowing where she is. She sees a young man staring at her, mouth open, and decides to ignore him as he is not a threat at the moment, but that changes when he moves forward. Instantly, she goes into battle position, arms in, hands curled into fists that were slightly open to minimize pain to her hands. Gwen was in a stance that her military training had taught her, yet she had no idea how to fight. She didn't even know who this boy was, just that he looked vaguely familiar. Then she remembers, and the shock of it sends her backwards. "Y-you're the boy I saw, with two friends, on the boat, just after the fall of Wall Maria...no you're the boy who saved me from the Titan...no, you're the boy who gave me a year of happiness. You're Eren Jaeger, my boyfriend, the love of my life," That was all she said before she falls, the last thing she remembers seeing is Eren running over to her, catching her, whispering, "Yes, yes, yes. I am the same boy. And you are Verity Campbell, my girlfriend, and I brought you back. You're safe now, so rest," and she passes out into his arms.


	4. Epilogue- Endings and Beginnings

Gwen/Verity wakes some time later, not knowing where she is, with her eyes closed. She opens her eyes and sees Eren above her, sitting in her desk chair, asleep. She smiles briefly and turns her head to see Levi standing with her back to her, obviously thinking. She mumbles their names and both men instantly look at her. Eren moves closer to her and takes her sweaty hand. "Are you okay, Verity? Do you remember anything? Did you-" Levi shushes him and looks down at her. "How are you feeling?" Levi asks her and she looks around, then up at Eren. "I-I don't know how I'm feeling. I don't know anything. I don't even remember. I just know your names, that you're both special to me, and I'm naked under these ill-fitting robes and covers," Gwen/Verity looks down into her covers and blushes. Eren stands and pushes the chair away, then moves closer to her bed. She looks at him reproachfully and pulls the robes around her tighter. Levi just looks at her and nods slightly, then goes to Eren and whispers to him. Eren gives her an anguished look, then goes outside.

Levi sits on the edge of the bed and looks down at her wide, blue eyes. The last year she had become something special for him, a friend he could rely on. Her Titan power had been a valuable weapon to his squad and her emotions were used to be with Eren. She had the best of both worlds up until the last month, when her emotions had turned her into a wreck. Now, she looked so at peace that Levi was sure that whatever her blood and the knife had done to the Titans and Eren had destroyed her power as well. He cautiously stepped to her bed and sat down on the edge, still looking at her. Gwen's mouth opens, but no sound comes out, and Levi just nods. "I understand if you're not sure where to begin. You might have your memory, you might have fragmented memories, you might not even have any memories, but you're a heroine. Just know that, Gwen. You're special in so many ways. Eren saw that and I did too, after a while, and-" She interrupts him at that very moment, blue eyes as wide as moons, "If you thought I was special, then why did you order your soldiers to hurt me one year ago?"

Levi reels back and stares at her for a long time, not sure how to reply. Gwen nods, realizing that she has struck a nerve, and settles back into her covers. "Please send for Eren and leave me alone. Your questions mean nothing to me," the pile under the covers says, then pulls her pillow over her head. Levi doesn't move for two minutes, then finally whispers, "I didn't know who you were before. You were just a girl who fell in love with my best soldier. After I got to know you, after you joined my squad, you became my best friend. I could never repay you for the number of times you saved my life. I never even said thank you when you died, I was too astonished. I'm so sorry, and I thank you for everything," then stands up, going to the door, when she says muffledly, "I'm not mad at you. I have always thought of you as a best friend as well. And you are welcome. I promised to protect my two favorite men and I did in the end," Levi smiles as he walks out, scaring Eren, who pulls out the knife that Gwen used to kill herself. "Is she dead again?! Why are you smirking? Oh, no, you didn't make her clean her room again did you?" and Levi just laughs, freaking out Eren even more.

Gwen- now decided to remain Verity- walks out of in the most ordinary clothes ever, hair pulled up into a ponytail, eyes behind spectacles, and regular, citizen shoes. She walks forward, ignoring both men, and walks down to the Center. Both Eren and Levi watch her with open mouthed silence and she starts to run, normally, and it is some time after she has left that either soldier moves. Eren follows her and Levi goes to her room, looks inside, then follows Eren. They finally catch up to her at the Center, resigning from her spot in the military. Verity walks back to her room, ignoring the many stares and whispers behind her back. Eren steps forward, so that she is behind him, and glares at all of them, silently threatening them to hurt one hair on her head. Verity turns back to look at him and taps him on the back. Eren turns quickly and hugs her close, despite the snickers and whispers of "Erwen," but he ignores it. They had long ago agreed that Erwen was a cute name for their relationship and he had no longer thought badly about it.

Verity wasn't sure what happened earlier with Levi, when she was in bed, but it made her heart hurt more than before. She knew that Levi would never replace Eren in her heart, that she just wanted to stay with Eren after everything she'd done. Verity loved him more then anything and that love made her decide to be herself again. The girl she was before had died and she had been reborn from those ashes. She could still move faster, fight better, and her emotions had retreated into herself, but she was also just a girl. And it was time for her life to begin. Possibly also with Eren with her. She couldn't help singing the lyrics to another song she enjoyed, but this song was the song they danced to together. "I know, I know, I know we're gonna make it, 'cause no one else can make me feel the way that you do, I promise you," She begins and Eren looks down at her. He whispers the next lyrics and takes her hand, pulling her close.

They start singing together, dancing in the middle of everyone, just fluidly moving with each other. Verity smiles up at him and slowly pulls out her ponytail, then her spectacles, putting them in her pocket, barely able to see anything except Eren's face. Her hair flies around her and they move as one. Everyone stops what they're doing and joins the rest of the crowd, watching a girl sing with her boyfriend about love and dance. They finish the song in harmony and move closer, so that their noses are touching. One guy from near the back screams, "Kiss already!" and the crowd laughs, and Eren looks toward the where the voice was heard and says in a clear voice, "If you insist," and kisses her full on the lips. After their kiss, Verity looks up into his eyes, and says "Could we, perhaps, start our life together finally?" and he nods. "I would love to. First we better get your contacts in, though," Eren says and she smiles. "I think that is a wonderful idea," Verity says and they walk off to cheers and screams of "Erwen! Erwen!" to her room, holding hands, grinning at each other. "If you fight, you win. If you fight, but lose anyway, then you're not fighting hard enough," Verity says and Eren nods once. "Now, it is time to start our life together," He says and they kiss with the sunset around them, looking at a bright new future.


	5. Endnote

**A/N: People that have followed this: You're not going to see this updated for some time, but that doesn't mean this story is OVER. If you search for "Her Year of Happiness", you will find Eren and Verity's continuing adventures! Just please don't follow this guy, PLEASE.**


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